(also Aix), a city in southeastern France, in Bouches-du-Rhóne Department. The ancient capital of Provence. Population, 111,000 (1975). Aix-en-Provence is a transportation junction. It has enterprises for the production of wine-making equipment, electrical machinery, matches, hats, carpets, and food products. Part of the University of Aix-Marseille is located there. The city is a balneological health resort.
Aix-en-Provence was founded in the second century B.C. In ancient times it was called Aquae Sextiae. Architectural monuments include the ruins of Roman buildings, the Romanesque Cathedral of St. Sauveur (constructed mainly in the 12th and 13th centuries), the Gothic church of St. Jean de Malte (c. 1285), and numerous palaces and fountains of the 17th and 18th centuries, mostly in the Italian baroque style. The museums of the city include the Granet Museum, which primarily houses works of the old French school, and the Museum of Tapestries and Old Furniture. P. Cézanne’s studio is open as a museum in the city.